Jisoo slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the harsh light that shone right into their face. She could hear her mother's voice calling for her name and her brother was rushing to look for a nurse or doctor. Her mind still feels hazy from sleeping and her vision blurring but still manages to recognize her parents. Her father was standing next to her mother, worry written all over his features.
She finally managed to register her surroundings. She was in some hospital room with an IV on her arm.
Jisoo tries getting up from where she lays but couldn't due to a sudden pain shoot on her chest. She looked down on her chest and noticed long stitches on the area below her collarbones. Now, she remembered that she had heart transplant surgery after the doctor found a suitable donor for her.
When Jisoo was seven years old, she suddenly passed out after playing hide and seek with her brother. Her parents sent her to the hospital and she had been diagnosed with ASD or congenital heart disease. Ever since that day, she needs fully to depend on medication and frequently stay in the hospital. "How are you feeling, honey?" Her mom says while helping her up so they can look at her. Jisoo smiles at them, her body feels sore but it's bearable. "I feel fine now, mom." She replies. "That's good. You should rest some more." Her mother says while kissing her daughter's forehead. Her father kneels down, taking her hand into his own. He gives her a soft smile. "We are glad you feel okay, sweetie."
Their conversation was cut short when doctors arrived inside the room with nurses and her brother. The doctor told her how lucky she is to have a suitable donor for her heart transplant surgery. He also tells Jisoo that there was no permanent damage to her heart. If she continues being healthy like this, she can go back home soon enough. She smiled at the doctor, thanking him again. He then leaves the room to talk with her family members.
Jisoo feels drowsy again, probably from the effects of the medication she is on. All she wanted to do was sleep, rest and not think about anything else other than resting. She slowly closed her eyes again and drifted off to dreamland.
***
It has been almost two weeks since Jisoo went to get her heart transplant and she has become pretty comfortable with herself and her condition now. There were days when she would just stare at the ceiling thinking about random stuff and other times, she would be staring blankly outside her window hoping for the weather to clear so she could see the sunset. Her parents and her brother visited her every day, sometimes bringing snacks and sometimes just talking with her.
Jisoo puffs her cheek, feeling bored of doing nothing. The doctors said she can walk around freely now which means Jisoo can leave her bed if she wants to. She slowly pushes herself up, sitting upright against her bed before holding onto a IV drip stand and slowly walking to where she left her cardigan. She puts on the cardigan and fixes her hair a bit before stepping out of the room. As expected, the hospital's hallway was filled with people who are busy with something or another. Jisoo walks forward, trying her best to avoid bumping into people.
She remembered one of the nurses used to tell her about the mini garden on the top of the hospital building. "You never know, Jisoo. Maybe you will meet a new friend." The nurse once said. It sounded really appealing to Jisoo's ears so she made her way to the elevator. She stops in front of the elevator, pressing the button and waiting for the doors to open. When they opened, she stepped inside and pressed the button labeled 12th floor. Once the elevator reaches the top floor, the door opens to reveal the garden. A lot of patients were already there enjoying the sun and relaxing. Jisoo took a few steps closer as she saw a male patient on the wheelchair, staring directly at the sky and looking lost in his thoughts. He looks like he is the same age as her or maybe even older. Jisoo felt curious because he seemed sad and distant. Looks like the guy broke his leg because he has the casts covering most parts of his left leg.
He seems familiar but what can she possibly remember from the past? She walked closer until she was standing next to the male patient. The man turns around only to reveal a handsome man with a sharp face and dark brown hair. "Hello..?" She started, slightly unsure because he doesn't respond. He continues gazing at the sky, unmoving like stone. Jisoo pouts but she decides to sit on the chair beside him anyway. "Are you okay..? I mean you seem very sad." She spoke softly. This time, the man turned to her and she was able to see his eyes clearly. They were dark brown. His gaze is also searching and cold.
"Can I join you? I didn't mean to intrude on your personal space." Jisoo says. He didn't respond but turned his attention towards the sky once more. "My name is Kim Jisoo by the way. What's yours?" The girl continues, wanting to ease the atmosphere. The stranger didn't reply. Instead, he keeps staring at the sky. 'Why does he keep staring at the skies though?' Jisoo ponders.
They stayed silent for a while, both of them simply enjoying the view of movement floating clouds. "Ah! Egg tarts!" Jisoo suddenly blurted out while pointing at the sky.
'Huh?' The man startled from hearing his favorite food being mentioned and looks at her curiously. After realizing that she has pointed at the sky, she quickly covers her mouth. "I'm sorry.. The clouds look like an egg tart!" She whispers hurriedly pointing at egg tart shaped clouds drifting across the sky.
The man stares at the sky then glances at her. "The clouds don't look like an egg tart.." He murmurs, making Jisoo giggles. "Yes, it is," She insists. "The clouds are like a jelly egg tart. It's kind of fun to watch eggs drift in the sky." Jisoo explains, smiling widely.
"Really?" He squints his eyes at the cloud in the sky before Jisoo takes his hand and points at the clouds once more. "There it is, there it is.. An egg tart.." She repeats excitedly. The stranger's expression changes to curiosity, staring intensely at the cloud in the sky.
Jisoo watches the strange man from the corner of her eye. He looks really mesmerized by the clouds. It made her want to distract him but she knew that it might not be a good idea since he might get angry with her. So Jisoo lets go of his hand and watches him instead. She wonders what his story is and how he ended up here. Most importantly, why she feels drawn to him despite knowing nothing about him. She finds it funny how he kept staring at the clouds like they hold his life and future in them. Jisoo couldn't help laughing silently at his cute behavior.
After a while, she feels tired. Her eyelids are becoming heavy and she doesn't know how much longer she can take it anymore. Her head falls on the person shoulder next to her. She closes her eyes and rests her head comfortably on his shoulder.
Taehyung turns to look at the girl next to him. His heart beats fast, fluttering in a way it never did before. His hand twitched. Why did she lean on him? He should move away, shouldn't he? Taehyung wanted to wake her up but she seemed so cute and peaceful sleeping on him. He sighs before deciding to just enjoy his company and let her sleep. Just as she was starting to nod off, Taehyung gently shakes her awake so she'll stop leaning on him. "Wake up.." He whispers, placing his hand on her head to support her head. She doesn't wake up immediately, instead, she tries to rub away the sleepiness from her eyes. "You should really stop leaning on me, it might make your neck hurt." He warns lightly.
Jisoo finally wakes up after a few seconds, lifting her head from Taehyung's shoulder. Their faces were close and their breaths were mingling between their lips. Her cheeks flushed redder and she averted her eyes, clearing her throat. "Oh, sorry. Did I fall asleep?" She asks quietly, rubbing her right temple. She feels really tired.
"Yeah you did.." Taehyung responds, chuckling slightly as he watches Jisoo rub her eyes, trying to wake up fully. "You should rest in your room." Taehyung speaks again. She nods and stands up, turning away from him before exiting the elevator with a smile. Taehyung stares at her retreating form with a frown forming on his face. 'What just happened?' He thinks. As she got further and further away, he felt disappointed somehow. He doesn't understand how he suddenly felt sad seeing her leave.
Jisoo walks over to her room and enters quietly, locking the door behind her. She sits down on her bed with a big yawn. "Shoot! I forgot to ask his name." She groans loudly as she leans back onto her bed. "Well, I'm too sleepy to ask him now." She mutters to herself before closing her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Jisoo went to the rooftop garden early in the morning, hoping she will meet the mystery patient again. Unfortunately, nobody came yet except for a worker cleaning up some dirt, some bushes, and the trees surrounding the flower beds. Jisoo sighs as she sits down on the edge of a bench and waits for the mysterious man to show up.
Jisoo decides to take out her sketchbook out of her bag and start drawing random things. At least she'll have something to do during the long wait. She starts drawing the mystery guy staring at the sky. She adds little detail like he had black hair which was messy due to the wind. Jisoo found him attractive in an odd way and it made her smile. She starts shading his features while humming to herself, and smiles when she sees this. This must be the first time she drew something besides her brother or her dogs.
After a while, Jisoo noticed how the man was nowhere in sight. "Maybe he didn't come here today." Jisoo mumbles to herself.
She looks around the area, wondering if he's nearby somewhere. She continues finishing her shading and lastly she creates small hearts surrounding him. Jisoo continues smiling at her work while fiddling with her pencil.
"It's a beautiful day to be outside isn't it..?" The unknown man suddenly speaks, startling Jisoo. She almost dropped her pencil in surprise.
"Wah..! You scared me!" She exclaims. Then she realizes that the mysterious man is actually talking to her. He chuckles lightly as he slowly sits next to Jisoo with a smile on his face. He didn't use a wheelchair this time but only with crutches. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.." He apologizes softly.
"No.. it's alright." Jisoo replies while shaking her head. She's still quite shocked but managed to compose herself enough to speak.
"Hm?" Taehyung says as he notices her sketchbook. He tilts his head a little confused, studying it. He raises his eyebrows slightly and picks up her sketchbook to find her drawing of him.
"Is it me?" He asks.
"What?! Oh no no.. It's actually... uh..!" Jisoo quickly replies, quickly taking the sketchbook from his hands. A faint blush forms on her cheeks. "No...it's not you... it's just... a friend..!" she stutters nervously.
He chuckles lightly as he observes her reactions. Jisoo continues looking everywhere other than Taehyung's direction, feeling embarrassed. Taehyung chuckles again. "You're really talented just like someone that I know." He tells Jisoo before looking at her with a sad smile. Jisoo flinches slightly.
"Uh.. thank you..?" Jisoo replies unsurely.
A silence took over, and Jisoo wanted nothing more than to escape from the awkwardness between them. "Ah.. Are you going to watch the sky again?" She asks randomly.
"Hmm? No. Not this time.. I'm just here for some fresh air..." He answers, giving her a puzzled glance. The two stay in comfortable silence for some moments, watching the clouds drifting peacefully above them.
Suddenly he breaks the silence, breaking the quiet atmosphere between the both of them. "So, what shape is that cloud making today?" He queries curiously as he keeps gazing up at the sky.
Jisoo hums then looks towards the cloud. There was one huge cloud, and its edges were fluffy as well. "It looks like a little turtle.." She states happily.
The man beside her suddenly let out a chuckle, shocking Jisoo and making her turn her head towards him. "What?" She asks confused, cocking her eyebrow. He laughs again. "Nothing, sorry. Just imagining little turtles floating in the sky." He replies with a smile. Jisoo chuckles as well while rolling her eyes playfully. "Well, Turtles are cool." She answers.
"And I bet you're one of those turtles." He added causing her to puff her cheeks because of his teasing remark. The male laughs in amusement because she looks adorable. Jisoo realizes that seeing his smile makes her warm inside and she couldn't help but want to make him happy. But before she could say something, her phone started ringing and she picked up.
"Where are you, Jisoo? Why are you not in your room?" Her brother called, his voice sounding worried. "I'm at the park on the top of hospital's building." Jisoo replied. Her brother sighs, "Don't wander too far. We don't want you to get sick because of being tired.." Jisoo agrees because it's true. "Okay. I'll be heading back now, bye bye!" With that she hangs up and looks at the man. "I guess I have to leave. My brother wants me to get back to my room." She tells him.
The man nods understandingly, his focus is now focused on Jisoo and not on the cloud floating above them. Jisoo smiles, "Bye." She waves before she stands up. However, she stopped when he suddenly grabbed her arm. Startled, she blinks because their faces are close together. So close that their noses are touching and their lips are inches away. "Ahem.. Sorry." He clears his throat. She immediately pulls herself away from him, embarrassed, they both feel shy all of a sudden. Jisoo coughs softly to get rid of her nerves and looks away, avoiding the direction of his gaze.
"Taehyung," He says after a few seconds of silence. Jisoo looks back at him, waiting for him to continue. "My name's Taehyung..." He introduces himself. Jisoo smiles brightly before she hears her brother shouting for her to hurry back. "Sorry, I have to go!" Jisoo hurries her feet to get back to her brother.
"Yah, don't run!" Her brother, Seokjin, shouts from afar. Jisoo pouts before looking behind her shoulder once more to wave goodbye at Taehyung. He waves back with a smile, watching Jisoo leave. Jisoo feels happy to see his smile. And she wonders why.
***
Taehyung wonders why the girl hasn't appeared again ever since their last encounter. 'Is she doing well?' He thinks, remembering how bright her eyes were as she smiled at him. 'Why do I keep thinking about her?' He sighs deeply, rubbing his temples as he tries to focus on anything else besides Jisoo. Anyhow, the doctor told him that he can be discharged today. He starts to pack his stuff when someone knocks on the door and enters his room.
"Are you ready to leave?" The doctor, who is also his friend, Wooshik asks while leaning against the doorframe.
"Yeah. I'm leaving already." Taehyung says, standing up straight and walking out of the room. His friend follows behind and helps him get out of the room so he doesn't trip over his crutches. "By the way, Taehyung. Are you doing fine? I know things will not be the same as before but hopefully, you'll be able to handle this situation better." Wooshik begins to worry that Taehyung might not recover from the accident. He doesn't know how hard it would be for Taehyung to deal with something like this, especially if the person he loves is involved.
Taehyung sighs and shakes his head, "I'm sure there are many things I would need to adjust to but.. I'll manage somehow. Don't worry Wooshik." He reassures his friend, trying to smile.
They enter the elevator, and Taehyung is left alone with his thoughts. He remembered the night that killed his fiancée in the car accident. They are on the way to the restaurant where they're supposed to have dinner with their parents. In the middle of the road, a truck suddenly came rushing at their car, causing a massive impact. Taehyung remembers how everything slowed down after the crash. Everything was a blur and the only thing that he could see was his fiancée's body lying on the floor while blood flowed from all sides. There are ambulance sirens coming from every direction. He knew his fiancée's life was in danger, yet he felt as if he couldn't move or breathe. His vision was blurry and he couldn't hear a single thing anymore.
Everything around him went black as his consciousness faded away until he finally passed out. When he wakes up in the hospital, he knows that everything that happened wasn't a dream. He knows she's gone. It hurts so much. He should've been protecting her. But, he couldn't even save his own fiancee.
"Taehyung?" Wooshik said as he tapped his friend's shoulder. Taehyung turns his face to Wooshik and smiles gently. "Yeah?" He asked, trying to sound happy, despite the heavy weight on his chest. "Let's visit my office for a while ? There is something I'd like to talk about with you." Wooshik explains. Taehyung nods and slowly walks out of the elevator, following Wooshik to the office where he has set up in the hospital for any patients.
Wooshik sits down in front of his desk and opens a drawer before taking out a file filled with papers. Taehyung takes a seat next to him, his eyes scanning the documents curiously. "These are Jiyeon's medical reports." Wooshik begins explaining. He flips through them and reads it to Taehyung. "After the crash, she received extensive injuries due to the excessive bleeding. A lot of broken bones, three cracked ribs.. Her right hip was shattered as well, her kidney was severely damaged and she lost a lot of blood."
'Oh..' Taehyung thought sadly. 'She must really hurt. I wish I was there for her.' He stares at Jiyeon's medical report and notices a small x marked on the page. Wooshik stops flipping through the papers and continues speaking. "We tried our best to fix all the fractured and damaged bones. But, the trauma of being hit by such an extremely high velocity caused a massive internal bleeding which resulted in her passing away at midnight.." His voice becomes shaky as he speaks those words.
Taehyung looks down at the floor, feeling sorry for his fiancée. 'If only I hadn't taken that drive... If only I had known the exact route we would take..... I could've done something.. Something more.' Tears threaten to spill out of Taehyung's eyes but he refuses to cry right now. Wooshik then proceeds to read Jiyeon's final medical reports, "But Taehyung, we retrieved her heart.."
Taehyung looks up surprised at the mention of her heart. What does he mean? "Her heart..?" Taehyung questions. Wooshik nods, still reading the papers. "Jiyeon probably never told you about this, but she is a registered donor for an organ transplant program. After her last breath, we put artificial respiration to keep it beating. This was her dying wish. And the procedure succeeded."
Taehyung gasps at the information. What does he mean by 'the procedure successfully worked'? "What do you mean..?" His voice cracks slightly.
"There is a patient that needed a suitable heart donor, and we managed to transfer Jiyeon's heart to the recipient." Wooshik reveals. Taehyung looks up at his friend with tears in his eyes. He tries not to think about the fact that her heart is now inside some unknown human being's body.
"Taehyung, I know what you're thinking but we can't change fate, okay?" Wooshik reassures the younger one, noticing the distress in his expression. The doctor gives him another medical report with a photo of a person. "That's the heart recipient's profile." Taehyung nods as he takes the file from Wooshik.
Taehyung frowns as he studies the picture. That's the girl he met on the rooftop's garden. "Kim Jisoo.." He mutters before turning to look at his friend.
***
Seokjin watches his sister asleep on the hospital bed. Jisoo seems so fragile laying on that hospital bed. He wants nothing more but his sister to get better. He doesn't want her to go through these hardships anymore than she already does. He stands up from his chair and approaches the bed, reaching out his hand towards his sister, brushing her hair gently, careful not to wake up Jisoo.
A soft knock on the hospital room door pulls his attention away from his younger sister and to the door. Seokjin sees a young male, who appears to be his age or younger, walking into the room quietly. Seokjin frowns, curious. "May I help you?" He inquires, eyeing the man carefully.
The man bows his head softly, looking up at him as he replies, "Sorry to bother but I'm Taehyung. I was the donor's fiance. Is your sister doing okay?" He asks worriedly.
"Ah yes, she's fine." Seokjin blinks in surprise before smiling slightly. "She was just being too active until she fainted from exhaustion so the doctor had put her to rest. But nothing serious.. She will recover in no time." Seokjin tells him reassuringly.
Taehyung nods, relieved. "Thank goodness."
Seokjin watches him silently, the man wears a cast on his legs and walks with a crutches. So, he assumes he got injured too. "I heard that your fiancée passed away. I'm sorry for your loss. Also, we would like to express our thanks for saving Jisoo's life." Seokjin bows politely, stating as a matter of fact. He can sense Taehyung tensed up a bit when he mentioned his fiancée and he feels a bit bad for the man.
"It's okay." Taehyung whispers, "You don't have to thank me. Jiyeon was doing the right thing by helping others. I hope she finds peace in heaven..." Taehyung trails off as a sad look flashes across his face. Seokjin can tell this man loved his fiancée very much.
Seokjin offers him a small smile, "We may not be related by blood, but .. I'll always remember you as someone very important to us."
Taehyung returns Seokjin's kind smile. "I'm glad the recipient of Jiyeon's heart is a kind person." He says softly, "Then, I shall take my leave.." Taehyung starts turning around when Seokjin calls him.
"Wait, don't you want to wait until my sister wakes up? You're welcome to stay here and visit her. I wouldn't mind at all." Seokjin says and he gestures at the empty chair beside him on the sofa. Taehyung shakes his head, "Thanks, but I don't want to make it as an excuse to get close with her, just because she had my fiancée's heart." He answers truthfully.
Seokjin's eyes widen but he nods in understanding, accepting his decision. Taehyung turns to look at sleeping Jisoo and he reaches into his pocket to pull out a necklace with a small blue stone pendant hanging from it. He looks back up at Seokjin and gives him the jewelry. "This belongs to my late fiancée and I would like Jisoo to have this." He says quietly and bows his head again as a goodbye.
"Okay." Seokjin simply answers and he places the necklace around Jisoo's neck. Seokjin watches Taehyung walk towards the door. He wonders if the man will be alright.
Taehyung leaves the hospital by a cab that he hired to pick him up. He stares blankly outside the window of the cab as they travel along the roads. He hopes that one day, he will finally feel that he belongs somewhere and find happiness, maybe soon, when he could forgive himself.
'I wait for you in a place where the sea meets the sky. One way or another, we will meet again someday....'
***
Three years have passed, Jisoo has fully recovered and becomes a senior in a university. Everyone is happy to see her healthy again, and she is also happy that she is able to finish her studies soon and start working. It isn't easy, but luckily for her, she knows her friends and family will support her through anything. Also, the necklace Taehyung gave her is something she keeps close to her heart. The blue stone reminds her of the beautiful ocean, its hue reminds her of the sky and the salty breeze whenever she walks on the beach. The necklace reminds her of everything good, positive, and hopeful about life. It keeps her smiling.
She hasn't seen Taehyung since the day they parted ways after meeting each other. "I wonder how he is doing, is he okay?" She thinks as she fiddles the necklace between her fingers.
A knock on the door distracts her thoughts and she jumps in shock, wondering who would dare disturb her. Her roommate, Hani sticks her head in the door laughing at Jisoo, "Hey, did I scare you?" She asks as she leans against the doorframe, "Are you busy this weekend?"
Jisoo sits up straight in her bed, "No, why?" She questions curiously. Hani steps into the room, closing the door behind her, "Our classmate is planning for a trip down the coast. You should come along to the beach! We've been planning this for weeks. "
Jisoo smiles sweetly, "Alright, let's go then. I have nothing to do anyway." She agrees happily. After all, Jisoo loves the sea, it's calming and relaxing and the thought of seeing some pretty scenery is exactly what she needs.
***
"I told you we'd have fun!" Hani laughs happily, tugging at Jisoo arm. Jisoo grins at her best friend and lets herself be dragged by her to explore. They are now at the beach. There are plenty of people there. The sun is hot and the breeze is cooling the temperature of the sea breeze. Hani sits down on the sand while Jisoo sits next to her. "Wow, this view is absolutely beautiful." Hani exclaims as she looks at the sky full of clouds.
Jisoo smiles as she looks at Hani who still has a fond look in her eyes. Hani wears a white shirt and shorts. Jisoo didn't bring any swimwear along so she is wearing a simple cute summer dress, exposing her long black hair.
Hani's eyes light up when she looks at Jisoo, "Hey.. I just remembered something.." She says, sitting upright and facing Jisoo who hums in response. "How's your brother doing? Hani asks curiously.
Jisoo knew that her friend had a crush on her brother, but she never really knew how far it had developed. "He's doing well now." Jisoo answers her friend honestly.
"Really? I wonder how he's doing at work?" Hani asked curiously as she bit her lower lips lightly.
"He's quite popular among the female employees... And he's single too, so maybe you'll have the chance to talk to him..." Jisoo teases playfully, nudging her shoulder lightly.
Hani scoffs slightly and shakes her head at the remark. "Hmph..." She mutters with a roll of her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Jisoo assures her.
"Good." Hani sighs in relief. " Ah, I forgot that I need to tell my classmate that we have already arrived here. I'm going to call him." Hani announces standing up and dusting the sand off her clothes. "I will return shortly." Hani winks at her before skipping off.
Jisoo sighs to herself, feeling more bored than before. She picks up a piece of driftwood and tosses it into the water. She stands up as the waves hit her shoes lightly before she strolls towards the sea. She looks at her feet as the waves reach them, gently pushing the wet sand aside.
She looks up at the skies and how it meets with the blue of the sea. There are lots of clouds in the sky today, she notices. It's funny, the sight of the skies reminds her of Taehyung and their reunion.
Jisoo giggles as she remembers how surprised she was at first upon meeting the man that has captured her heart so quickly. She misses Taehyung already. Jisoo's eyes fall onto her hand, examining the small stone necklace that Taehyung gave her.
Suddenly, a soft voice speaks near her, "You're enjoying the sea, aren't you?". Jisoo turns her head and sees a man standing there with a gentle smile adorns his handsome features.
"Taehyung?" She blurts out before she even realizes.
"Hello, Ms. Turtle."